These desserts feature unique and wondrous flavor combinations and are the ultimate ending to any good meal.

Molasses-Gingerbread Cake with Mascarpone Cream

Katie Rosenhouse, pastry chef at Olana in New York City, makes gingerbread year-round  not just at Christmastime. Her supermoist cake, flavored with molasses for a mellow sweetness, is excellent with wine-poached pears or a topping of whipped mascarpone and sugary, slightly bitter confited orange peel.

Caramelized-Pineapple Baked Alaskas

Baked Alaska is a layer of cake covered with ice cream and meringue and broiled. In this version, Grace Parisi skips the cake: Instead, she tops ice cream (preferably coconut) with pineapple chunks that have been sautéed with store-bought dulce de leche, then spoons a quick meringue over the fruit and broils until golden.